Whenever I return from a trip, I do a couple of things. First, I make a big pot of soup. It might be Three Amigos Soup (Beef and Vegetable Soup), Galbitang-Korean Rib Soup, or Instant Pot Easy Jook (Rice Soup). Soup is homey and comforting, and the perfect antidote after being away. Then, I look for something to bake. Cause that’s how I roll. LOL.
While deciding what to bake, I found a bag of dates stashed in our pantry that I had bought at the Hollywood Farmers Market. Light bulb moment, time to make Sticky Toffee Pudding. My favorite recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding comes from Kate Zuckerman’s The Sweet Life, which she calls Date Cake. I perused my cookbook shelves (yes, plural), found my copy… let’s do it.
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Kate’s Date Cake includes cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon for a bit of spice. You could serve the cake with just a sprinkling of powdered sugar, but IMO, you’d be crazy not to make the Toffee Syrup. Kate’s version doesn’t call for soaking the cake with the syrup; just serve the sauce on the side. Feel free to pour a copious amount of sauce on the cake, I do. A scoop of vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream is an EXCELLENT accompaniment.
It’s a Date: I like Medjool Dates, which are widely available. Find them in your neighborhood grocery store or Trader Joe’s. Soak the dates in hot water and baking soda. The hot water rehydrates the dates, while the baking soda breaks down the pectin, softening them. Other dates will also work in this recipe, such as Deglet Noor or Barhi. Remember to pit your dates before smooshing them..
Espresso Powder: I use Medaglia D’Oro or King Arthur’s. Use your favorite.
Corn Syrup: Light corn syrup is perfectly acceptable, but you can use Lyle’s Golden Syrup to enhance the caramel flavor.
This is an easy cake to make and a crowd-pleaser. Give it a try! You could get fancy and bake them in a muffin tin so everyone gets their own dessert. Fancy pants style. Fill the muffin tin 3/4 full. Shorten baking time to 20-25 minutes. Keep an eye on them, start checking at 18-20 minutes.
Date Cake from The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle
Ingredients
Date Mixture:
- 255 g fresh dates 9 oz I used around 15 Medjool dates
- 2 tbsp brandy Can substitute Grand Marnier
- 2 tsp instant espresso powder
Wet Ingredients:
- 12 tbsp unsalted butter, 170 gm or 6 oz at room temperature
- 1 cup soft brown sugar 175gms
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
Dry Ingredients:
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour 220gm
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp baking soda
Toffee Sauce
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter 2 ounces
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp light corn syrup
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1.5 tbsp rum, brandy, or bourbon
Instructions
The Cake
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F).
- Line a (9 inch) square cake tin with parchment baking paper.
- Halve the dates and remove the pits. Place the dates in a mixing bowl and add the brandy and espresso powder. Add 240 ml (1 cup) of boiling water to the bowl and allow the mixture to steep for 10 minutes.
- Puree the date mixture in a food processor (or you could use a resilient stick blender, or a stand mixer) - it doesn't have to be completely smooth.
- Cream the butter for 1 minute in a stand mixer, then add the sugar and continue creaming for another 6 to 8 minutes, until the mixture is light, fluffy and pale. Stop periodically to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix on low speed for around 20 seconds after each one. If it starts to look curdled, don't worry about it - it will balance out when the dry ingredients are added.
- In a separate bowl, sieve together the flour, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Don't add the bicarb soda yet - just in case you were going to plonk in all the dry ingredients, and then go 'bugger' after going back to the recipe (which didn't happen this time...). With the mixer on slow speed, and half the flour mixture to the butter, sugar and eggs.
- Add the baking soda to the date mixture and stir for around 10 seconds.
- Keeping the mixer on slow, add the date mixture to the cake batter and incorporate thoroughly. Then, add the remaining half of the flour and spices and mix until combined and no floury streaks remain. Scrape down the bowl, then mix on slow speed for 30 seconds.
- Pour the batter into the lined tin, and level the top with a spoon or spatula. It's a very runny batter before being baked, just in case you look at it and wonder how it's going to turn into a cake (or is it just me that has those worries, borne of the until-now dodgy oven?). Bake on the centre shelf of the oven, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the centre of the cake is set when tested with a thin skewer. My cake was done after 48 minutes. Allow to cool in the cake tin, then turn out onto a wire rack.
Toffee Sauce
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, corn syrup, and 1 tablespoon water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and simmer mixture for 2 minutes.
- Add cream, a couple of tablespoons at a time, whisking after each addition. After adding all the cream, whisk in rum. Remove from heat and transfer to a sauce bowl or pitcher.
- Serve over Date Cake. The classic recipe calls for poking holes in the cake, pouring sauce over it, and letting the cake absorb the sauce. This cake, on its own, is very moist, so it doesn't call for this step. But, in my experience, be generous with the sauce when serving.
- Oh, and vanilla ice cream goes really well too.